Chandler Jones is hungry. And lately, the NFL’s reigning sack master doesn’t have an appetite for quarterbacks.

Those will be back on his menu soon enough, but for now, it’s all about tripling the calorie intake and packing on the pounds for the Cardinals star.

“I’m a little big. I don’t know if you guys can even see, but I’ve put on some weight. I eat a lot,” Jones said, smiling approvingly as he talked with reporters during a break in his charity football camp this past weekend at the team’s Tempe training facility.

Jones figures he tips the scales at about 275 pounds, though he looks a little heavier than that. Some of that weight will be shed before he reports to training camp at the end of July 28, but a heavier Chandler Jones isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It actually should benefit him now that he will be playing defensive end in first-year coach Steve Wilks’ new 4-3 base defense.

That’s what Jones played as a member of the New England Patriots, but when he was traded to the Cardinals in March 2016, he had to switch to outside linebacker in Arizona’s 3-4 scheme and that meant dropping weight to become faster and more mobile. Tasked with also having to drop back in certain passing situations, a sleeker, quicker Jones terrorized the NFL like no other.

He’s accumulated more sacks (28) and tackles for loss (43) than anybody in the league during the past two seasons. In addition to setting a single-season franchise record – and his NFL-leading 17 sacks last season – Jones also led the league with 28 tackles for loss and 38 quarterback hits in 2017.

Those numbers could easily climb this year now that Jones is moving to end, where his assignments will be simpler. He will be back in a one-gap scenario where all he really has to do is chase down quarterbacks and scurry around or through a tackle to bury running backs. And Jones gets into the backfield about as often as Shaquille O’Neal pitches products on TV.

“It’s less thinking, honestly,” Jones said. “A guy can just go play and not think. You can play a lot faster. Our whole defense should be a lot faster.”

Meanwhile, Jones has been getting a lot bigger. He’s bulking up by eating his own cooking, something that has become sort of a hobby. Pasta dishes are among his favorites, although he isn’t bashful about thumbing through batches of cookbooks in search of new creations “and just (trying) new ingredients.”

“I cook a lot of food,” he said. “I’m not as really strict on my diet as I should be, but I cook a lot. A lot of times when it’s home cooked, I eat it.”

Just like quarterbacks?

“Just like quarterbacks,” he says, laughing. “I cook this really good lasagna. I cooked it yesterday, actually. I baked lasagna. I threw some special ingredients in there. I threw some kielbasa in there, some spinach and diced tomatoes, mushrooms. I do a lot of different things.”

“Oh, for sure,” he said. “That’s my girlfriend’s job – she’ll probably be bringing food in or sneaking it in. But yeah, I’ll be eating some camp food for sure, which is good. It’s very delicious. Shout out to our cafeteria.”

Jones not worried about credit

Chandler Jones instructs campers during a football camp on Saturday in Tempe.(Photo: Sean Logan/azcentral sports)

Though he is the only player in the NFL to have posted at least 11 sacks in each of the past three seasons, there hasn’t been a ton of national recognition for Jones. This past season, he did earn his second Pro Bowl selection and his initial first-team All-Pro accolade.

But when it comes to the game’s elite pass rushers, Jones doesn’t seem to get the same props as others such as Houston’s J.J. Watt, Oakland’s Khalil Mack, Denver’s Von Miller, Minnesota’s Everson Griffen or the Rams’ Aaron Donald. Whether the snub is real or just perceived, it doesn’t really matter to Jones.

“No, no. Not at all,” he said. “I was just telling one of the younger guys, he told me, ‘You have a lot of sacks but you don’t get a lot of recognition and people don’t really say anything.’ I said, ‘From who? Recognition from who? I don’t really care.’ I try to come out here and do my job. If you worry your whole life about the ratings or who says what, you’ll never go anywhere because you’re just living up to someone else’s expectations.”

“My expectations are for him to perform well at a high level this year,” Wilks said. “To what degree, I hope it’s Pro Bowl, All-Pro, maybe Defensive Player of the Year. He has that kind of skill set. I think the 4-3 is going to allow him to have more of an opportunity to go for the quarterback. He’s very savvy and he’s shown that over the years, particularly last year with the production.”

As much as Jones claims he couldn’t care less about the notoriety, he does care about his production and his legacy. That’s where his motivation lies and it’s why he’s known for frequently leaving motivational messages in teammates’ lockers and in his own.

“You never just want to be a one-year guy, you know?” Jones said. “Me having a decent season last year with 17 sacks, I don’t ever want to look back at the end of my career and say, ‘You know that one year I had 17 sacks and then oh, he kind of just fuzzed it away.’ I want it to be, ‘Oh, after that year, he got better. He got better and better and better and you can see it statistically.’

“When I say that, it just pushes me harder. Even though it’s hard for me to say, ‘Oh, how could you not be satisfied?’ You never want to sit there and look at yourself and say, ‘Darn, I could have done better, I could have had a better year, a better career.’ So at this point in time, at this point in my career, it makes me want to do better.”

Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Wednesday night between 7-9 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

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Cardinals Patrick Peterson takes a picture with Cannon Cabral on his birthday during the Hyundai Youth Football Camp at Arizona Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz. on July 2, 2018. Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks huddles with his players during voluntary Organized Team Activities on June 5, 2018 at the Arizona Cardinals Training Facility in Tempe, Ariz. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks huddles with his players during voluntary Organized Team Activities on June 5, 2018 at the Arizona Cardinals Training Facility in Tempe, Ariz. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks huddles with his players during voluntary Organized Team Activities on June 5, 2018 at the Arizona Cardinals Training Facility in Tempe, Ariz. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Sam Bradford hands the ball to running back David Johnson during voluntary Organized Team Activities on May 23, 2018 at the Arizona Cardinals Training Facility in Tempe, Ariz. Rob Schumacher/The Republic

Cardinals scout and former player Adrian Wilson (left) and Cardinals general manager Steve Keim look on during the Cardinals Spring practice at the Cardinals training facility in Tempe on April 19, 2018. David Wallace/The Republic

Cardinals offensive coordinator Mike McCoy (left) and head coach Steve Wilks during a Cardinals Spring practice at the Cardinals training facility in Tempe on April 19, 2018. David Wallace/The Republic

Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim, left, and head coach Steve Wilks talk about the upcoming NFL draft during a press conference at the team training facility in Tempe, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson throws a heavy ball over his head at the Tempe training facility, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, during the offseason strength and conditioning program. Tom Tingle/azcentral sports